IPL Kings XI Punjab

Pune, April 9: Rajasthan Royals would look to adapt quickly to their new ‘home ground’ when they lock horns with last season’s runner-up Kings XI Punjab in their campaign opener in the Indian Premier League here tomorrow.

The Royals, who have three 2015 World Cup winners in Shane Watson, Steven Smith and Jame Faulkner, would look to Chris Morris, their costliest buy at Rs 1.4 crore, for a positive start.

They have also brought in two leg-spinners in Dinesh Salunkhe and Pardeep Sahu, and could play decisive roles for the team in this format.

Smith, meanwhile, comes in to the IPL on the back of an awe-inspiring performance in the year gone by. He has scored 2096 runs in 31 international matches across all formats at a brilliant average of 69.86, which includes eight hundreds.

During this period, he captained Australia’s Test side and was their leading run-scorer (402 at an average of 67, including an unbeaten fifty in the final) in a winning World Cup campaign.

Kings XI Punjab captain George Bailey, who did not get to spend much time in the middle last season, aggregated 257 runs at a strike rate of 135.26.

But it was Glenn Maxwell – 552 runs at a strike rate of 187.75 – who was the team’s trump card in the previous IPL. In the company of South African dasher David Miller and the Indian trio of Virender Sehwag, Manan Vohra and Wriddhiman Saha, Maxwell could well be the key to the team’s fortunes this season as well.

‘We have a well balanced team’

That intimidating batting order has been further beefed up by the addition of Murali Vijay. The bowling department also looks solid with Australian tearaway Mitchell Johnson leading the pacers pack.

“Last year was a good season for us and we would want to carry on the winning spree this season as well,” coach Sanjay Bangar said on the sidelines of KXIP’s pre-season camp here.

“We have a well balanced team and the entire coaching staff is positive about the teams performance. As a part of this camp, we will focus towards working on the strengths and improvement areas of the players and look forward to a great tournament.”

HTC, Manforce, ACC, Royal Stag, Pan Parag  Mouth Freshener and DCB Bank are all Official Principal Sponsors. Kingfisher is the Official Good Times Partner. Britannia is the Official Goodness Partner. Woo is the Official Matchmaking App. The association with Pepsi as the Official Beverage Partner continues. (Full list of broadcasters)

Kings XI Punjab players celebrating a wicket during an IPL match

TYKA is the Official Kitting Partner. Homeland Heights is the Official Luxury Homes Partner. CashUrDrive is the Official Outdoor Partner. Bookmyshow and Kyazoonga are the Official Ticketing Partners. Sport & Beyond and T10 Sports are the Official Merchandise Partners.

BlippAR is the Official Augmented Reality Partner. Best TV has come on as the Official TV shopping partner.

Commenting on the announcement, Fraser Castellino, COO, Kings XI Punjab stated, “We are really happy to welcome all of our sponsors who have renewed their association with us since last season and extend a special welcome to the new partners joining us this year. We stand committed to delivering a solid on-ground performance and hope this will help all of our partners benefit from their association with Kings XI Punjab.”

Kings XI Punjab will play their first match on April 10 against Rajasthan Royals at MCA International Stadium, Pune.

Mohali, April 5: Boasting an array of dazzling stroke makers and heady mix of experience and exuberance, Kings XI Punjab, having finished runners-up in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), are raring to go one step better this time.

Having faltered to deceive in earlier editions of the cash-rich cricket league, Kings XI emerged as the team to beat in the last edition, riding on the sustained explosive performances from Australian dasher Glenn Maxwell and South African David Miller.

Beside the presence of seasoned campaigners like aggressive bat Virender Sehwag and pacer Mitchell Johnson, the exciting Indian contingent of Wriddhiman Saha, Axar Patel and Manan Vohra made the Kings a force to reckon with. However, Maxwell, who played a key role in Australia’s world cup triumph, will continue to be the key.

Armed with a repertoire of unconventional shots, Maxwell is known for taking the attack to the opposition irrespective of the situation. In addition he can bowl right-arm off-spin, bat anywhere in the middle-order and like most Australians is a fantastic fielder.

Led by the assuring captain-coach duo of George Bailey and Sanjay Bangar, the Kings have enough firepower in both the batting and bowling departments that make them one of the contenders for the title.

With Sehwag and Vijay – the only Indians to have cracked two IPL tons each – at the top and the likes of Saha, Bailey, Miller, Maxwell and Shaun Marsh in the ranks, the Kings arguably have the best batting line-up.

Spearheading the bowling attack, lanky Australian pacer Johnson will have able support in Sandeep Sharma and Shardul Thakur, who with 48 wickets has emerged as the joint highest wicket taker in this year’s Ranji trophy. Known for his discipline spin bowling, Kings would look up to left armer Axar Patel, who in the last season played a pivotal role snatching 17 wickets in as many matches.

In Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Manan Vohra and Rishi Dhawan, the Kings have three promising youngsters while they can always rely on Sri lankan Thisara Perera, who emerged as a prolific all-rounder in limited-overs cricket lately. His aggressive batting style and ability to pick crucial wickets make him a crucial player.

The 8th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 8) Twenty20 tournament will get under way in Kolkata on 8 April with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders facing Mumbai Indians. 60 matches, over 47 days, will be played and the final will be hosted by Kolkata at Eden Gardens on 24 May (Sunday). The full schedule for IPL 8 was today released by BCCI.

Chennai Super Kings are regulars in the end of the season playoffs in this competition but they have lost their leading run scorer from last season in Michael Hussey and his opening partner Murali Vijay has also gone for the Super Kings will be looking for a new opening pair. Dwayne Smith has come in from Mumbai and is set to open the batting. Chennai look to lack a bit of depth in their seam bowling department.
IPL 7 CSK vs KXIP Match 3
Date : 18 April 2014 Time : 10:30 GMT – 02:30 Local – 16:00 IST
Venue : Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Kings XI Punjab have undergone some big changes in the close season. Regulars in Mohali like David Hussey and Adam Gilchrist are no more but there is still an Australian feel to their side with Mitchell Johnson, George Bailey, Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell among their overseas players. Virender Sehwag has been prized away from Delhi to open the batting while the likes of Parvinder Awana and Mandeep Singh will bolster the bowling options.